17 Dec 2015 13:25
17th December 2015
EGDON RESOURCES PLC
("Egdon" or "the Company")
UK 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round Second Tranche Offers
Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to advise that the Company is to be offered 11 blocks and part-blocks in the second Tranche of the UK 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round as announced today by the Oil and Gas Authority ("OGA"). These are in addition to the 7 blocks and part-blocks the Company was offered in the first Tranche as advised in August 2015. The OGA will now progress towards issuing Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences ("PEDLs") over the blocks offered in the two Tranches.
In the 14th Round as a whole, Egdon has been offered interests in a total of 18 blocks and part blocks which will translate into 9 new PEDLs. The new licences will cover a total area of approximately 1126 square kilometres (278,220 acres). This represents a significant proportion of the blocks for which Egdon applied. The new blocks to be offered are located in the East Midlands Petroleum Province and the Cleveland Basin and expand the Company's acreage and opportunity base within these two core areas providing a mix of new, conventional and unconventional resource opportunities.
The blocks to be offered to Egdon in the second Tranche are:
East Midlands - Gainsborough Trough
· SE31c : Egdon 15%, joint venture with Island Gas Energy PLC ("IGas") (35%, operator) and Total E&P UK Limited ("Total") (50%), adjoins SE41e offered to the partnership in the first Tranche.
· SK59b : Egdon 15%, joint venture with IGas (35%, operator) and Total (50%), adjoins SK49 offered to the partnership in the first Tranche.
East Midlands - Humber Basin
· TA30, TF39b : Egdon 37.5% and operator, joint venture with Celtique Energie Petroleum Limited (37.5%) and Petrichor Energy UK Limited (25%).
· TF38c : Egdon 75% and operator, joint venture with Terrain Energy Ltd (15%) and Nautical Petroleum Ltd (10%), adjoins PEDL005(R) and contains a portion of the Louth prospect. As part of the farm-out announced in July 2015 Egdon will transfer a 10% interest in this block to Union Jack Oil plc subject to OGA consent.
Cleveland Basin
· NZ51, NZ52b, NZ52c : Egdon 33.333%, joint venture with Third Energy Onshore Limited (33.334%,operator) and Celtique Energie Petroleum Limited (33.333%), surround part of PEDL068 in Teeside which contains the Kirkleatham gas field.
· SE99a, TA09 : Egdon 17.5%, joint venture with Third Energy UK Gas Limited (20.0%, operator), Europa Oil & Gas Limited (22.5%), Shale Petroleum (UK) Limited (22.5%), Petrichor Energy UK Limited (12.5%), and Arenite Petroleum Limited (5.0%), contain the Cloughton tight gas discovery (Bow Valley, 1986) ca. 10km north of Scarborough, also cover part of the site from which Egdon plans to drill a well to test the offshore "A" Prospect gas discovery (Total, 1966).
· NZ90 : Egdon 100%, adjoins SE99a above, covers part of the site for the "A" Prospect well.
Commenting on the 14th Round offers, Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc, said:
"We are delighted with this outcome in what has been a very competitive Licensing Round. The blocks we have been offered in the 14th Round overall will provide further significant opportunities to grow our business and will be excellent additions to Egdon's portfolio of UK exploration and development assets. The award of NZ90A and SE99A in the Cleveland Basin means we can now also push ahead with the consenting process for the proposed well to test the considerable potential of the offshore "A" Prospect.
As an established operator with a strong licence holding, we are encouraged by the high level of interest shown in the UK Onshore and are pleased that our good reputation and partnering strategy in the 14th Round helped us to secure these new licences. We look forward to progressing our evaluations of the new acreage whilst continuing to engage with local stakeholders, and will update shareholders in due course."
For further information please contact:
Egdon Resources plc
Mark Abbott, Jerry Field 01256 702 292
Buchanan
Richard Darby, Anna Michniewicz 020 7466 5000
Nominated Adviser and Broker - Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
David Porter, Sarah Wharry (Corporate Finance) 020 7894 7000
Richard Redmayne (Corporate Broking)
Joint Broker - VSA Capital Limited
Andrew Monk (Corporate Broking) 020 3005 5000
Andrew Raca (Corporate Finance)
Notes to Editors:
Egdon Resources plc (LSE: EDR) is an established UK-based exploration and production company primarily focused on onshore exploration and production in the hydrocarbon-producing basins of the UK and France.
Egdon currently holds interests in thirty six licences in the UK and France and has an active programme of exploration, appraisal and development within its balanced portfolio of oil and gas assets. Egdon is an approved operator in both the UK and France.
Egdon was formed in 1997 and listed on AIM in December 2004.
In accordance with the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, the information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and signed off by the Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc Mark Abbott, a Geoscientist with over 26 years' experience.
UK 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round Tranche 1
In August 2015 Egdon was offered 7 blocks/part blocks in the first Tranche of 14th Round Awards:
· in the Gainsborough Trough, a 15% interest in Blocks SE41e, SK49, SK89e, SK88b and SK87c in a joint venture with IGas (35% and operator) and Total (50%), building on the Company's existing relationships within this area.
· in the Widmerpool Basin, an 18.75% operated interest in Blocks SK52a and SK53 in a joint venture with Hutton Energy Limited (25%), Coronation (Oil and Gas) Limited (25%), Celtique Energie Petroleum Limited (18.75%) and Petrichor Energy UK Limited (12.5%).